


petrichor

by cosmicchris



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Depression, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Park Chanyeol is Whipped, Sad with a Happy Ending, Social Anxiety, i wrote a song for a fic, idk if this is slow burn or not what defines slow burn, they're so in love im soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-10 05:14:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19900396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicchris/pseuds/cosmicchris
Summary: pet·ri·chor/ˈpeˌtrīkôr/nouna pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.somewhere along the way of trying to make his best friend happy,baekhyun starts making chanyeol happy, too.started 25/11/18     finished 28/11/18





	1. one

the air was almost bitterly cold. it bit through the thin jacket that baekhyun had grabbed as he dashed out of his house like a knife, silently creeping its way through his skin and muscles and settling in his bones. he could feel it in his bones. just like he could feel the heartbeat constantly drumming against his temples in a steady rhythm. steady, but rapid; all that he could hear was the blood pumping through his ears.

it was already dark out. he hated the dark. 

the decaying leaves crunched under his feet as he walked along the sidewalk, hands shoved firmly in his pockets. there was a smell about the air, he noticed when he turned onto chanyeol's dark street. it smelled like rain. 

in the harsh wind, the now bare branches of the trees clashed together, a heavy twinkling melody of the wood knocking together filling the air along with the otherwise silence. it was peaceful, he thought. there were no cars, and enough clouds that the only light came from the streetlights, illuminating the pavement in almost neon orange and yellow and blue in seemingly random intervals.

the way to his best friend's house was more muscle memory than anything by this point as he turned left at the pine tree that sat planted alarmingly close to the road. his footsteps seemed to echo up the sidewalk, and instead of going up to the front door as one would expect, he went around to the back and up the ladder that rested against the side of the house. 

he knocked five times in the pattern that he always used to signal his arrival. it was quiet for a few seconds, and then the sound of something falling over, rustling and heavy footsteps. the blinds were yanked up, the window pulled open by a disheveled looking park chanyeol. he knelt by the window for a few seconds, staring at baekhyun, before speaking a simple "what the fuck?" 

pushing him aside, baekhyun climbed in, dropping the backpack off of his shoulder and onto the floor before turning and shutting the window. he sat down against the wall, closing his eyes and unintentionally releasing a deep sigh. he could feel chanyeol's apprehension die down a little, and then a body settling next to his. 

"what happened?"

"haven't seen her in three days," baekhyun responded quietly, pulling his knees up to his chest and leaning into chanyeol. the younger put his arm around baekhyun's shoulder, pulled him closer. "got tired of being alone." 

chanyeol only nodded, crossing his legs at the ankle and resting his head against the top of baekhyun's, whose cheek was on chanyeol's shoulder.

baekhyun stayed silent, trying to focus on the rise and fall of chanyeol's chest and failing. his eyes dropped down from the place on the wall that he'd been staring at and to chanyeol's leg. there was a loose thread on the seam of his flannel pants, and, shifting slightly, he grasped it between his thumb and index finger, twisting it. 

"talk to me, baek," chanyeol said softly. his voice was barely above a whisper, the deep rumble of it the most calming thing that baekhyun's heavy heart had heard in a long while. 

"it's getting bad again." the way he spoke was reserved, as if chanyeol wouldn't be able to see through him like glass. they both knew better. 

asking no questions, chanyeol tapped baekhyun's shoulder, a signal for him to stand up. chanyeol stood after, grabbing a blanket off of the foot of his bed and heading for the window. it opened with a loud creak and baekhyun watched the gangly limbs of his best friend trying to fit through the small gap in the wall with much difficulty. 

finally, he managed to get out, standing on the roof. baekhyun followed much more graciously.

chanyeol sat down with his back against the wall, spreading his legs apart and holding his arms out to baekhyun like a child asking to be picked up. baekhyun sat down in between his legs, leaning back against him. chanyeol's chin settled on baekhyun's shoulder, and his arms were tightly around the smaller boys' waist. 

"look up," chanyeol murmurmed into his ear. "not down. look up."

they did this more often than baekhyun would have liked to admit. whenever shit got to be too much, so overwhelming he couldn't think straight, the deepest corners of his mind seemed to turn even blacker than they already were. he'd wake up and go to sleep thinking about dying, and it was eighth grade when chanyeol finally got him to open up about it. ever since then, they had done this- come out on the roof and sit. it was comforting to baekhyun, in some twisted way, to be so close to a possible end but to still be in safety's arms. it made him feel like he had some sort of control, and with chanyeol's heartbeat behind him forcing his own to slow down to normal, he truly felt like he did. 

it was some time later when chanyeol woke him, claiming that it was much too cold to sleep outside. baekhyun had actually dozed off, so he rubbed his tired eyes as they scrambled back inside. chanyeol went out of the room, into the hallway, to go to the bathroom. baekhyun changed into boxers and an oversized white tee that he was pretty sure he had taken from yeol some time ago while he was gone.  
baekhyun climbed into chanyeol's half-assedly made bed, facing away from the door and lying on his side. the sheets were so soft and warm and smelled so much like chanyeol that he was almost lulled to sleep. 

just before he was actually unconscious, the younger boy came back into the room. he turned the light off as he shut the door, plunging the room into darkness only broken by the dim strand of rainbow christmas lights around his cieling and an orange lava lamp on the desk. baekhyun listened to chanyeol's moving around before he felt the bed beside him dip, and he cracked an eye open to see chanyeol sititng on the edge of the bed with his acoustic in his lap.

"close your eyes," he said softly, looking away to glance down at the guitar. as baekhyun closed his eyes again the scratching noise of the capo being slid up the neck onto a different fret was alarmingly loud in the room until channie started playing. he was humming along to the melody he was picking, eventually gently plucking chords and almost mumbling the words to a song due to how quiet he was trying to be. 

baekhyun was asleep in no time. apparently not entirely, though, as he felt the weight on the bed disappear and long, calloused fingers brushing his bangs out of his face. soft lips touched his forehead before chanyeol retreated, and baekhyun hummed serenely, finally falling asleep. he didn't feel chanyeol get in beside him, or the taller turning to face him, or the eyes carefully observing and mapping out his peaceful features. he did, however, feel safe, because he knew that chanyeol would protect him. chanyeol always protected him.


	2. two

school days were never fun, probably for anybody, but baekhyun hated them. 

people constantly stared at him, possibly because they thought he was weird, possibly for some other reason. he didn't know, didn't really care; he just knew that the only people in the school that willingly spoke to him other than chanyeol were his lab partner jongin, his too-common duet partner for choir, jongdae, and one of chanyeol's cousins, sehun, who had quickly become his friend too. but he saw them all at lunch, except for during choir and chemistry. he barely even saw them in the hallway, and he had no classes with chanyeol. 

if he was with chanyeol, though, it was fine. on some days, when the younger could tell baekhyun needed him, he'd leave class early to meet baekhyun outside of the door of his class and walk him to his next class, even if it was different halls, different floors. and when chanyeol was with him, he could just walk close to him and keep his head down in peace. he couldn't do that alone. 

baekhyun knew that he was probably, almost definitely, just being self conscious, knew that every kid in the entire building had their own problems to deal with and couldn't care less about his. but he constantly felt like everyone was staring and judging and critisising. he was somewhat short compared to most of the boys in the rest of his class, his hair was always messy, and he wore older clothing. not because he couldn't afford to not shop at thrift stores, but because he thoroughly enjoyed thrifting and wearing clothes that had a story behind them. he found them much more interesting than retail store-bought clothing.

it was a cloudy thursday, the sky so overcast that it looked like somebody had thrown a slate-coloured sheet over the atmosphere. no sunlight shone through the few windows in the old building, giving it all the air of something almost abandoned. 

baekhyun could feel it in his soul; even if nobody else realised it, everything was more hushed, more reserved. the halls seemed less crowded as he made his way to lunch, many more people keeping to themselves and minding their own business than usual. it was strange, without the cacophonous white noise of an overpopulated high school and without the sound of rain pelting the roof and outside walls to help dull it down. the mutedness was digging through his skin similar to his fingernails clamped down into his palm, slowly driving him deeper and deeper into a pattern of thinking he knew he should know better than to think, but old habits die hard. 

as he rounded the corner, the wide opening into the cafeteria in sight, he closed his eyes, trying to steady his constricting breaths while continuing to walk. as soon as his eyes closed somebody tripped over their shoelaces and slammed into his side, accidentally shoving him to the wall in the poor person's attempt to not fall. it was so unexpected to baekhyun that it thoroughly startled him. he leaned with his back against the cold wall, watching the crowd go by with hooded eyes and a growing sense of panic.

he knew that chanyeol would still be in his class; he'd had a test to makeup. and jongin, sehun and jongdae would be too preoccupied with themselves to notice his absence immediately. turning around, he headed for the bathroom, pulling the hood of his jacket up over his head.

the door closed behind him with a bang and he quickly made his way to the end of the narrow room, pushing the last stall's door open and locking it with shaky fingers. he slid the straps of his backpack off of his shoulders and down his arms, dropping it by the door before he sat down hard against the concrete floor.   
it hadn't even been a full minute by the time that his phone vibrated in his pocket. his elbows were digging into his knees, hands in the roots of his hair, and he didn't particularly care enough to get his phone out. at least, until it buzzed again. and again. and again, a few moments later. 

chanhoel: _hey, dae's saying nobody saw you_  
chanhoel: _where are u?_  
chanhoel: _are you okay?_

chanhoel: _baek?_

me: _bathroom_

baekhyun typed back unsteadily, suddenly thankful that autocorrect existed. he set his phone face down beside him, bringing his hand up to his face to wipe away the tears staining his cheeks with his sleeve. he swallowed past the lump in his throat, pushing down another sob as he was overwhelmed with a feeling he was all too familiar with. 

fucking pathetic. 

the bathroom door slammed open and he heard fast footsteps. the door to the stall he was in rattled before it grew quiet. 

"baekhyun i swear to god unlock this door or i will climb over it." 

shuffling forward, he reached up enough to unlock it. he didn't even have time to sit back back against the wall before chanyeol was locking the door behind him. 

the taller of the two, now towering over the boy sitting in front of him, stared down at baekhyun for a few seconds, rapidly flying through too many emotions. he settled on distraught, and even though chanyeol's voice and hands were steady, baekhyun could read his eyes like a book. 

"talk?" chanyeol asked while sitting down beside him, opening his arms. baekhyun gladly leaned into him.

the elder shook his head slightly as chanyeol's arms closed around him, caging him in. he was at an awkward angle, and before he could adjust, chanyeol had grabbed the bottom of his thigh and hoisted his legs up over chanyeol's, so that baekhyun was almost sitting in his lap. he didn't realise he was still crying until a choked sob escaped his lips, and then chanyeol's hand was in his hair, pulling his head in closer to the younger boy's neck. he inhaled the comforting smell of pine and wood smoke and cheap cologne, closing his eyes and focusing on the fingers carding through his hair and the low voice humming next to his ear.

when the bell rang, baekhyun pulled away, standing up with somewhat wobbly legs. chanyeol stood up after him, cupping his cheeks with both of his big hands and using his thumbs to wipe away the shining of the tear tracks down his cheeks. baekhyun looked up at him through his eyelashes, and chanyeol gave him an encouraging smile before pulling away. he bent down to pick up both of their backpacks, swinging his own over one shoulder and baekhyun's over the other. the click of the lock sliding open was loud, and the two sets of footsteps in the otherwise empty bathroom echoed. baekhyun stopped in front of the door, chanyeol almost running into him. 

"i don't want to go out there," he whispered, backing up slightly. his shoulders hit chanyeol's chest.

wordlessly, chanyeol reached for his hand, interlacing their fingers together. as if to prove it, he moved so that he was in front of baekhyun, even though if the door opened it would slam into his back. the taller of the two lifted their interlocked hands, kissing each of baekhyun's knuckles before dropping their hands again. 

"it'll be okay, baekhyunnie." 

chanyeol held his hand whenever he could for the rest of the day.


	3. three

the clocks had changed. 

comfortable sweatshirts had been traded for gloves and woolen sweaters, the black and orange and toxic green that came with halloween for the warm amber tones of thanksgiving. more often than not, in the morning when chanyeol picked him up for school, baekhyun found that he could see his breath billowing out in front of him like icy clouds of smoke. 

he'd been in his room all day, avoiding the stench of alcohol that always filled the house whenever his mother was there. he sat by the window in his room, curtains pulled to the sides and blinds up to show the sun setting in dull colours. his phone was in his lap as he sat on the old leather desk chair criss-crossed, a random playlist softly playing from the speakers. 

he hadn't gone to school that day. despite chanyeol's efforts, baekhyun couldn't muster up the motivation to get out of bed. he had stayed huddled in the warmth of his blankets until just a few minutes ago, suddenly evident in the deep growl of his stomach. he pressed the palm of his hand into the lower part of his stomach, silently shushing it. 

as he was debating whether or not getting food was worth seeing his mother, the music stopped playing for a few seconds, his phone vibrating. it was a text from chanyeol. 

chanhoel: _hey. i wanna do smth_

me: _then do it_

chanhoel: _w u, u idiot_  
chanhoel: _be ready in 10_

baekhyun stayed sitting for a few seconds more than were necessary. he wondered momentarily if he could cancel, if he could just stay in the safety that was his room, but he knew that chanyeol wouldn't even remotely allow him to. 

letting out an exhausted sigh, the boy stood up, leaving his phone on the chair. he opened one of his drawers and sorted through the mess until he found a pair of black skinny jeans, sliding them on with ease over his boxers. on the hooks over the back of his bedroom door hung a giant grey sweatshirt that had been chanyeol's; somehow, it was too big on the tree, and he didn't like clothes being too big because he said it made him seem even taller. baekhyun had gladly taken it, using the excuse of 'grey goes with almost everything.' he just wanted it because it smelled like his best friend, but that knowledge could be kept to himself. 

it hung down almost to baekhyun's knees. glancing in the mirror hung up over his dresser, he noticed the state that his hair was in and quickly decided that that would not do. instead it fixing it, of course, he grabbed a white beanie, pulling it down over his head comfortably. 

he grabbed his phone and then pulled his sneakers on, leaving them untied. god forbid he trip on the way to brush his teeth. 

he felt the phone buzz again as he spit the foamy toothpaste out of his mouth, ignoring it in favour of rinsing his mouth out with shockingly cold water. pulling the hood up over his head, he exited the bathroom, turning the light off as he left. somehow, he managed to not run into his mom, and for that he was thankful. 

chanyeol was idling on the side of the road, headlights on due to the rapid darkening of the sky. baekhyun opened the door, sliding into the seat and shutting it again. he could feel chanyeol's eyes on him, a questioning glare to them, but the elder stayed facing forward, eyes closed. after a few seconds of the silence, he sighed again, letting the good posture slip and slumping down in the seat. 

"you didn't want to come, did you?" 

he shook his head, small movements from left to right that could've moved mountains. as soon as chanyeol had time to comprehend it, he was putting the car in gear, lurching forward a bit too fast. baekhyun felt fingers covering his own, and he was thankful, holding on to chanyeol's hand as he stared out of the windshield. 

chanyeol sped through the suburbs and out of town, finally seeming to relax once the interstate was laid out in front of them. he let go of baekhyun's hand, instead pressing the power button on the radio and searching through the channels until it landed on something that seemed acceptable. he turned the heat up to full blast and rolled both of their windows down, turning the radio up afterwards.

a few minutes passed uneventfully. when a song that baekhyun knew came on, he loosened his seat belt, pulling his knees up underneath him to put himself closer to the window. he was basically hanging halfway out of it, letting the freezing air whip past his face louder than the radio, louder than the truck's engine itself running or the sound of the tires against the road. he closed his eyes against the harsh wind, barely able to breathe. the air felt so crisp, so nice that it was worth it; he could feel the truck pushing 70, 75, 80, seemingly faster and faster, like chanyeol was trying to drive them to a different world. and maybe he was. 

when the tips of his ears felt frozen and his nose was running, he finally shrunk back into the cab of the truck, rolling his window up most of the way. chanyeol's window was rolled up, too. 

they drove for what felt like hours; baekhyun wasn't keeping track of the time, nor did he really care to. the boy behind the wheel seemed perfectly fine, so he was, too. 

they entered another little town just as the clock hit seven, the lights giving it away before any signs or buildings did. chanyeol still hadn't asked him anything, or even really spoken, and baekhyun was grateful. he hated being interrogated, especially when the interrogator probably knew the answers better, anyway. 

they pulled into the parking lot of a dingy-looking diner, classic red neon lights declaring the name of the place. the building was small, the surface of the parking lot cracked in some places, dying weeds poking out of the black. baekhyun watched as chanyeol put the truck in park, turning the key and slipping it into his pocket. he got out, closing the door behind him, and baekhyun followed. 

"what is this?" baekhyun's voice was quiet, and chanyeol had to walk a bit closer in order to hear him. 

"my grandpa owns this place," he said. "i come here sometimes when i need space, y'know? you need one of his milkshakes."

"channie, it's like thirty degrees. i'm not getting a milkshake."

the taller turned around as soon as baekhyun finished speaking. his back was against the door, and he leaned back slightly to push it open. "you are getting a milkshake." 

the lights inside the diner were dimmer than baekhyun expected. he followed chanyeol across the black and white checkered floor, watching his friend carefully. the lights were dirty, the material of the booths cracking from overuse. the building seemed to be empty aside from two other customers, an older couple who seemed to be having a rather serious discussion over burgers and fries. it had an almost otherworldly atmosphere that set baekhyun a little on edge, but chanyeol seemed more than at ease.

the man behind the counter recognised chanyeol, shouting in joy while pulling his gloves off. he hugged chanyeol, the both of them laughing, and baekhyun could see the resemblance. even though the diner's owner had wrinkles around his eyes and on his forehead and greying hair, they had the same exact giant, goofy smile. 

baekhyun stood behind the two rather awkwardly, hands stuffed in his pockets. he didn't look up until chanyeol wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him into his side. chanyeol's grandpa was back behind the counter, gazing at them with an expectant smile. 

"this is baekhyun," chanyeol announced. "he's the one i've been telling you about for, like, years, y'know? constantly messy hair, short-" 

"i'm not that short," baekhyun grumbled, elbowing chanyeol in the ribs. 

"-grumpy." he finished with a laugh. "can we get a large vanilla shake and an order of fries? two straws with the shake, please." 

"ooh, cute," baekhyun said as he rolled his eyes. 

chanyeol paid, and they sat down in one of the booths. baekhyun cocked an eyebrow as the boy slid in across from him. "two straws with one shake? really?"

"yes, so i can spit in it if you insult me," he responded instantly, not missing a beat. baekhyun burst into laughter, and chanyeol's eyes seemed to light up. 

"why are you looking at me like that?" baekhyun was still giggling, and he struggled to form the simple sentence. 

"that's the first time i've seen you laugh in weeks, baek," he replied softly, eyes glued to baekhyun's face. it was almost like the younger felt like he had to memorise every single thing about baekhyun's face when he was happy, and he understood that; he'd been frowning way too much, lately. 

baekhyun opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a small girl with dark brown hair came by their table, a tray in hand. she set it down on the table between them. "nice to see you again, yeol," she said, and then walked away. 

"you know everyone here, huh?" baekhyun asked with a faint smile. 

"more like everyone here knows me. grandpa doesn't shut up about me, from what i've heard." 

"i don't blame him," baekhyun said quickly, a blush immediately creeping over his cheeks as he realised what he said. he averted his gaze from chanyeol's, feeling the younger staring at him, and reached for the salt. 

"don't you dare-" chanyeol growled, grabbing the salt out of baekhyun's hand. baekhyun grabbed it back, and then they were fighting over the salt. 

"okay, okay, fine. separate the fries. you get half and i get half. keep that salt away from my fries." chanyeol looked defeated, elbows propped up on the table and palms cupping his cheeks. baekhyun nodded in agreement. 

the elder of the two was halfway through his fries, sweater paws pushed up to his elbows to keep the sleeves clean, when chanyeol cleared his throat. baekhyun looked up to see chanyeol pushing the milkshake towards him. 

"this better be worth it." 

"watch your step, i will spit," chanyeol warned. 

"you're the most demanding person i know." 

chanyeol smiled a blinding smile at him. "you're just wrapped around my finger." 

baekhyun flipped him off, but still reached for the glass, sliding it closer. his eyes widened in surprise when he tasted the drink. 

"holy shit, this is a good milkshake." 

"thanks, the secret ingredient is my cum." 

baekhyun was halfway through another drink and he choked, coughing roughly. there were tears in his eyes, and he couldn't tell if it was from almost dying or laughing so hard. 

"shut up, you idiot," he said, still laughing. "why would you- don't say shit like that." 

the smile on chanyeol's face was much softer when he answered. "'cas it made you laugh."

they stayed at the run-down diner for hours. baekhyun didn't get back to his house til almost two am, and he had utterly no problem with that.


	4. four

baekhyun had surely thought that after almost a decade of knowing him, there would be nothing left to learn about his best friend. 

baekhyun was wrong. oh, he was so very wrong. 

he had known that chanyeol was a night owl, but when he snuck into baekhyun's house at two thirty am on a school night and begged him to go adventuring, baek learned that maybe it was a bit more extreme than he had thought. 

they had driven out to the middle of nowhere that morning. when they finally stopped in a field off of the highway, they piled blankets in the bed of the truck. chanyeol had even brought pillows and a stuffed bear. baekhyun had questions for which he was demanding answers, but chanyeol had just put his finger to baekhyun's lips, shushing him. 

baekhyun had trusted him; he couldn't not have, the two pressed so close together that they were breathing the same air. baekhyun's head was on chanyeol's chest, and chanyeol's arms were safely around baekhyun. 

the elder had started to get impatient when chanyeol pointed up to the sky. his eyes finally adjusted, he looked up, squinting slightly, and gasped.

one, two, three, four-

countless, seemingly never-ending meteors slid through the inky black sky. they were far enough from civilisation that the somewhat scattered line of the galaxy was visible, cutting the horizons in half like the grand canyon cut through america. 

the meteors were close enough that they watched some of them burn out before disappearing around the curve of the earth. baekhyun felt like he could almost hear them; the particles burning up as they soared through the atmosphere, sizzling as they evaporated. he was mesmerised. 

"make a wish," chanyeol said softly, breaking baekhyun out of his reverie. 

baekhyun tilted his head back to look up at chanyeol, finding the younger staring down at him, too. 

baekhyun's wish wasn't granted that night.

the first time that it snowed, baekhyun had been woken up at dawn by a spam of messages from chanyeol. 

he'd gotten dressed in his warmest clothes, and they were on the road by 7:30. 

chanyeol drove north. baekhyun had kicked his boots off, his socked feet propped up on the dashboard as he hummed along to what seemed to be every song on the radio. chanyeol hummed along with him, sometimes trying to sing with baekhyun and match with the high belting ranges of most of the pop stars on the radio. 

baekhyun won. 

eventually, chanyeol dropped the octave, and it was good after that. 

it was a saturday, and as they drove north they realised that it was still snowing. giant flakes drifted down slowly, and the roads were clear, so they weren't worried. 

chanyeol pulled off into a wildlife park of some sort, reaching into the back and grabbing a small backpack.

"i am not hiking in the snow." baekhyun stared at the back in obvious disgust, almost scowling. 

"like you'd hike anyway," chanyeol huffed, getting out of the truck. baekhyun punched him in the arm. 

they found a giant cedar tree that was thick enough to keep the ground underneath it dry and sat beneath it. chanyeol spread a blanket out on the ground and they sat down. 

baekhyun still didn't trust the bag, but when chanyeol pulled two thermoses and sandwich boxes out of the grey material, his face lit up. 

baekhyun reached for one of the thermoses and sandwiches, glad to smell the comfortingly bitter smell of coffee. "i adore your mom." 

chanyeol pouted, his mouth full of peanut butter sandwich. "how do you know i didn't do this?" 

"because you never remember to cut the crusts off for me," he replied with a chuckle, tilting his sandwhich towards chanyeol as if to prove that the crusts were, in fact, missing.

"i do that for your own good! byun baekhyun, you're seventeen years old, you need to stop eating sandwiches like a five year old." chanyeol was laughing, his eyes crinkled up in the sunny way that they did whenever he was happy. 

"hey, i can do whatever i want to do, and if i want to eat sandwich like a five year old then i will eat sandwich like a five year old. fucking fight me, park."

chanyeol just rolled his eyes, still smiling, and continued eating. 

the snow fell steadily around the boys, the wide boughs of their tree protecting them. baekhyun sat with his legs crossed, staring out around them in wonder. everything was white and the dark greens of evergreen trees and the pale gray-blue of the sky. he glanced back towards chanyeol, the younger focusing on something on his phone. 

"winter is perfect for you," baekhyun said suddenly. 

chanyeol's eyebrows furrowed. "what do you mean?" 

"the colours," he gestured around wildly, "look good with you." the black of his hair contrasted perfectly with the white of the snow, his dark brown eyes the rich green of the pine trees. "you look good." 

"thanks," chanyeol said gently, smiling up at baekhyun. "y'know, if you wanted to steal more of my clothes, you could've just asked."

baekhyun looked down at himself. his coat had been unzipped, revealing a different sweatshirt that wasn't his own. his cheeks flushed. "most of the time i don't even mean to take your stuff. unplanned sleepovers, and i don't have clothes to sleep in or for the next day, so i sleep in one of your shirts and then i just wear it to school and then- well, then it's mine." 

"that's, like, communism." 

"that is not communism, channie."

chanyeol glared at him over his coffee. "you're literally saying that what's mine is yours. common ownership." 

baekhyun's eyes widened. "holy shit, marriage is communism." 

chanyeol paused, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "that's the worst thing you've ever said."

"still not as bad as the 'thanks, the secret ingredient is my cum.'" baekhyun stated pointedly. he had finished his sandwich and the box had been safely returned to the confines of chanyeol's backpack. 

"i only did that to make you laugh!" he defended immediately, his cheeks flushing red, which made baekhyun laugh. 

"yeah, yeah, whatever. i'm freezing, yeol." 

they made their way back to the truck, shoulders brushing. baekhyun could feel the cold of the snow on his face, and he knew that he was covered in it.   
"we should go ice skating, yeol." 

the engine started, and chanyeol looked over at the boy in the passenger seat in disbelief. 

"baekhyun, i'm the clumsiest person on earth. i would literally break something." 

baekhyun rolled his eyes, unable to keep the smile from creeping onto his face. "yeah, yeah. you're just scared."

a week later, the sun was shining. it had snowed again the previous day, and the watery light made the dazzling white blanketing the land sparkle. 

he saw chanyeol's truck before he heard from him. it was parked on the side of the road in front of his house, and baekhyun's phone buzzed with a call from his best friend seconds later. 

"hey! we're going ice skating." 

the pure joy in chanyeol's voice made baekhyun almost have to hold in a laugh. "you're so extra." 

he got in the truck, safely adorned in gloves and a hat and snow boots. the radio was playing softly, the cab of the truck pleasantly warm. chanyeol had shed his coat, revealing a fur-lined leather jacket. 

"fancy," baekhyun stated, taking in the mix of the jacket and black jeans. he looked good. "i haven't seen you in days. why did you fall off the face of the earth?" 

chanyeol looked away quickly, shifting the truck into drive and pulling back onto the road. he hesitated, and baekhyun didn't miss the blush spreading over his cheeks. he hummed expectantly. 

"okay, honestly, i was with jongin. he's in a bunch of my classes and his parents are competitive figure skaters. he was teaching me how to skate." 

baekhyun stared at him. "are you serious?" 

chanyeol nodded, eyes still on the road. 

baekhyun burst into laughter. 

"oh my god, you were that worried about falling on your ass?" he paused, reigning in his laughter only to say, "or maybe you're trying to impress me," before laughing harder. 

"oh, please, i don't need to impress you," chanyeol responded, the harmed state of his pride evident in his tone of voice. "i pick up a guitar and you're swooning over me. shut up." 

"okay, just because i like you singing me to sleep does not mean i'm swooning." 

"byun baekhyun, if you piss me off i will not allow you in this truck for two weeks." 

baekhyun's eyes widened; chanyeol was his ride everywhere. "but-"

"no buts!" 

"alright, mom." 

the trip was rather uneventful, except for chanyeol claiming he was lost and baekhyun almost panicking. the younger had laughed, apologising profusely to the glowering boy. baekhyun was not impressed. 

that changed, however, when he saw where they were going. 

he had expected an actual ice skating rink. a few dozen feet in front of the truck was a giant pond, the entire surface glazed over with a pale blue that was more white in some spots. the edges of the pond were surrounded by ancient trees, towering high above them. the landscape seemed untouched. 

"this doesn't seem safe-"

chanyeol had already gotten out; he came around to baekhyun's side and opened the door, planting his feet and crossing his arms in front of his chest like a disappointed dad. "baekhyun. c'mon." 

"are you sure about this?" baekhyun asked, uncertainty making his voice waver. 

chanyeol's expression softened. "jongin and i have been out here every day since tuesday, and it's been colder the past couple of days." baekhyun still looked unconvinced. "baek, jongin and i both probably have thirty pounds on you if not more." 

"i'm not that short!" 

chanyeol laughed. "i'm not calling you short. i'm calling myself freakishly tall and jongin freakishly ripped." 

"yeah, alright, that's kinda fair." 

it was another twenty minutes before baekhyun was finally coaxed out onto the ice. chanyeol had made him swap his comfortably stable snow boots for genuine ice skates, courtesy of kim fucking jongin. of course he had extras. chanyeol changed, too, but he had gotten a crash course; baekhyun had nothing. the elder was not very pleased. 

"why didn't you just bring me to the secret rendezvous with jongin if this was for me? i can't skate," baekhyun muttered under his breath, half to himself. he was holding on to chanyeol's broad shoulders, staring down at the ground as if he felt like it would suddenly fall out from under him. 

"because," chanyeol said, steadying him with his hands on baekhyun's waist, "i guarantee that as soon as you find your footing you're gonna go." 

sure enough, as soon as baekhyun was somewhat comfortable, he was able to move just fine. it didn't take long before baekhyun was essentially doing laps around chanyeol. they were both a little wobbly and their noses were bright red with the cold, but the smiles on their faces and the laughter coming from the boys more than made up for it. 

they lasted a little over an hour before the cold became too much. they returned to the truck, thankfully back in their own shoes. chanyeol's mom had packed them lunch again, and they sat in the backseat, the middle console pulled up so there was nothing separating them. the truck was on, warm air spilling into the cab through the vents and the radio playing quietly. they sat on opposites sides, eating their lunch and drinking their coffee in comfortable silence. 

"thank you for all of this," baekhyun said suddenly, eyes cast towards the seat below him. "you really don't have to do this." 

"i want to," chanyeol countered immediately. "it makes you happy, and you being happy makes me happy. i don't like when you're sad. i don't like you being sad. so i try to fix it." 

the conviction in his voice made baekhyun look up at him. there was a sort of defensive fire in chanyeol's eyes, and baekhyun giggled. 

"thank you," he took a swig of his coffee as if it would give him strength, "for all of this. you're amazing. i don't deserve this." 

"baek."

he looked up again, and the tenderness in chanyeol's eyes almost hurt. 

"you deserve everything." 

it had stopped snowing by the time they headed back, but baekhyun couldn't stop his lips from curving upwards in the ghost of a tell-tale smile.


	5. five

baekhyun had spent thanksgiving with chanyeol. 

the weeks after the turkey-centric holiday and into december were surprisingly warm. on most days, temperatures would climb into the high fifties, sometimes even the sixties. they put very good use to the abnormality, going on many more outside adventures than they normally would in december. 

one saturday morning, baekhyun came down the stairs to find chanyeol sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. it was lit, the flames casting a warm glow through the room. it illuminated chanyeol's features perfectly, sharpening the angles of his jawline and cheekbones and softening the gentle curves of his eyes and lips. he was wearing a red flannel, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows so that they wouldn't scrape on the strings of his guitar. a notebook and his phone and several pencils sat on the floor in front of him, plus a water bottle and a coffee mug that was probably bigger than baekhyun's entire hand. it looked like he'd been there for a while. 

baekhyun sat down in the love seat across from the fire, seeming to startle the focused chanyeol; he bolted upright, eyes wide. he calmed down when he saw who it was. 

"you're up early." 

baekhyun gestured towards chanyeol. "says you." 

the younger shrugged. "couldn't sleep. had an idea."

"teach it to me," baekhyun said abruptly, sititng forward in his chair. "i want to sing with you. i can do harmonies or something." 

"uh-" chanyeol shrank back against the stone of the fireplace, his cheeks reddening ferociously. "lets, uh, lets not do that. lets not do that." 

abandoning the chair, baekhyun approached chanyeol, sitting down in front of him. the elder pouted. "please..?" he was looking up at chanyeol through his lashes with puppy dog eyes. hair sleep-mussed and one of chanyeol's sweatshirts hanging off of his shoulder, he knew how good he looked, and he knew he'd get his way. 

chanyeol groaned, and baekhyun had won. the younger of the two ran a hand through his hair, staring down at the paper in front of him. it looked like he would rather throw his songbook in the fire. 

the strings squeaked when chanyeol moved his hand, readjusting it to the fingering of the first chord in the pattern. it was quiet aside from breathing and the crackling of the fire. 

the first strum was crisp, clean enough to cut through baekhyun's mind and settle in the depths of his brain. the pattern was different than what he normally played, and baekhyun watched, fascinated, as he went through it before repeating. and then he started singing. 

"peel away your layers,"

the words were soft, comfortably sang from near the bottom of chanyeol's range. baekhyun shifted, preparing to listen to the whole thing. 

"break down the walls." 

he glanced up at baekhyun for a split second before staring back down at the paper. 

"sign your name on the waiver,"

baekhyun inhaled, carefully watching chanyeol. 

"to quit standing tall." 

he played the chords four times through. baekhyun was holding his breath. 

"hold yourself together  
by a thread   
endure any weather   
you can do this again." 

baekhyun stared at chanyeol's face, trying to read him. the boy's strumming softened and his voice softened as he looked up to meet baekhyun's eyes. 

"i'll be here to catch you when you fall  
i'll be here to hold you up when you can barely crawl   
i'll be here again and again and again   
i'll be here until the very end." 

as soon as he stopped singing, he switched out strumming in favour of picking, the different strings playing different pitches at different times so that it all bled into one cohesive melody. he had looked away again, focused on his fingers plucking at the strings. 

"you don't know how to cry on your own  
and i don't blame you  
you don't need to come clean all alone   
and you don't have to"

_holy shit, this is about me._

"your foundation's cracked and i'm trying to help put it back   
it's flooded one too many times   
your heart's on your sleeve and i'd hate to see   
it go to waste, it's one of a kind."

_he wrote this about me._

"so i'll hold you in my hands until the sunrise   
i'll tell you stories of distant lands until you finally close your eyes   
i'll sing you to sleep whenever you need to dream   
"i'll do anything to keep you breathing."

baekhyun was in some sort of shock, his wide eyes locked on the boy sat in front of him; his eyes cast down at the notebook, his fingers moving swiftly over the strings, his lips forming the words that fell from them so delicately. not only the song, but also its creator, was a piece of art. he could hear the devotion hidden in the well-woven words, the raw ache of young love hiding between them. he could feel it.

"i'll be here to catch you when you fall   
i'll be here to hold you up when you can barely even crawl   
i'll be here again and again and again   
i'll always be here until the end."

the last few notes faded out at the end until the strings finally stopped vibrating. they both seemed to be holding their breath, baekhyun staring straight at chanyeol while the latter busied himself with his songbook. he was writing something, possibly little notes in the margins. baekhyun just waited for him to speak. 

"so." chanyeol finally broke the silence. "what do you think of it?"

"i think that it's the best thing i've ever heard." 

"bullshit," chanyeol said softly, smiling faintly. "you only say that because you know it's about you." 

baekhyun shrugged, unable to hide his smile in return. "no, honestly. the lyrics are good and the rhyming is good and just- your voice." 

chanyeol's eyebrow arched in a challenge, meeting baekhyun's eyes for the first time since he finished singing. "what about my voice? it's so sexy, isn't it?" 

"shut up, that's not what i meant." 

"you're not disagreeing." 

"no i'm not." he watched the confidence fall away into a deer in headlights look and he laughed. "i just meant that it's really, really fucking calming. you write what best suits your style, obviously, so you sound better with your own songs than anyone elses'. it sounds good." 

chanyeol's cheeks were slightly pink, and his bottom lip was caught between his teeth. "thanks." 

"let's make waffles." baekhyun sat up on his knees, for once taller than chanyeol, even if it was only because the younger was sitting. "teach me later. food is priority." 

"i agree," chanyeol said. he put the guitar on the stand a few feet from the fireplace before standing up, leading the way into the kitchen. he had grabbed his empty coffee mug on the way and sat it down in the sink mid-yawn. 

baekhyun got the waffles out of the freezer, his socked feet not making a sound over the tile floor as he walked over to the toaster, turning it all the way up. the waffles plopped into the metal cage with a thud, and he turned towards chanyeol to see the taller pouring two cups of coffee. 

"channie, how many cups have you had today?" 

he paused, looking up momentarily as if he could find the answer on the ceiling. "uh. this is my sixth." 

"you're going to have a heart attack."

chanyeol shrugged, bringing the mug to his lips. 

"no!" baekhyun exclaimed, slapping him on the arm. "you can't say that. being suicidal and shit is my thing."

"sharing is caring," he retorted, making eye contact with an exasperated baekhyun over the cup. 

"i'm not sharing, you're stealing." baekhyun glanced behind him to make sure that there was nothing on the counter before jumping up onto it, the granite cold against the backs of his thighs. 

chanyeol was stand a foot to his side, still standing in front of the sink. baekhyun watched as he chugged the entire contents of the mug before rinsing it out and sitting it in the sink. "god, how do we always get back to communism?" 

before baekhyun could answer, chanyeol looked over at him, drying his hands off on a towel and coming to stand in front of him. "i think you're the reason that my cats keep getting up here. my cats aren't allowed on the counter. you've gotten them in trouble so many times." 

"sorry that your cats' rules don't apply to me," baekhyun replied. "i like feeling tall. don't take this from me." 

chanyeol simply smiled up at him. he was standing between baekhyun's thighs, his hands completely covering the elders' kneecaps. baek was suddenly hyperaware of how close chanyeol was, how much closer he could be; his eyes flickered down to chanyeol's lips, soft and pink and so fucking close. 

_shit talk say something stop staring at his lips-_

"why did you write that song?" 

shit, not a good topic to distract. 

chanyeol shifted his weight to a different leg, a shy smile curving his mouth upwards. "because. it's all true. i want to be able to be there for you." 

baekhyun rolled his eyes, his hands coming up to rest on chanyeol's chest to push him away. he didn't push him away. "you idiot, you already are. literally always." 

"no, baek." chanyeol's voice was so soft that baekhyun could barely hear it, like the dozen inches separating them was suddenly a chasm that they were talking over. baekhyun's eyes were glued to chanyeol's and it was so obvious when the youngers' eyes slowly strayed from his eyes and to his lips that he felt like screaming. chanyeol's hands pushed his legs apart a little further so that he could step closer before they came up to cup baekhyun's cheeks, just like they did whenever he wiped tears from underneath baekhyun's eyes. this time, though, there were no tears to wipe away, only the racing heartbeats drumming through both of the boys' chests. "i want," he said, his thumbs wiping over the soft curves of baekhyun's cheeks twice before ultimately landing on the corners of his lips. "to be there for you." baekhyun's eyes were trained on chanyeol's mouth, so he didn't notice when the younger glanced back up at his eyes. his hands were still on chanyeol's chest, itching to move upwards and tangle in his best friend's hair; he didn't move, though, anxiously waiting for chanyeol to do something first. "i want to kiss you." 

"then fucking kiss me," baekhyun exhaled, and chanyeol kissed him. 

at first, it was a barely-there brush against his lips. one, and then two, and then three; baekhyun slid his hands up into chanyeol's hair, pulling him closer, and then channie actually kissed him. 

his lips were soft, and warm, and baekhyun felt like he was melting into the boy who now stood inches from him. he was running out of air, but he wasn't willing enough to pull away. 

finally, chanyeol retracted just a bit, tilting his forehead against baekhyun's. his hands still caressed his cheeks, and his eyes were closed as he exhaled against baekhyun's parted lips. 

"i've loved you so fucking much. for so fucking long."

now it was baekhyun's turn to get flustered. he leaned into chanyeol's touch, wrapping his legs around the backs of chanyeol's thighs to pull him closer. "i didn't realise i did until a few weeks ago," baekhyun admitted sheepishly. "remember that morning? you snuck in my house and woke me up. we went and watched the stars falling."

he could feel the breathless laugh more than hear it, so he kept going. "i think- i think that's when i realised. you're just- you're so fucking perfect, yeollie. and you do so much for me."

chanyeol pulled away enough to look him in the eye. "i don't think you realise how much you do for me." 

before baekhyun could respond, the waffles popped up, startling the fuck out of both of them. baekhyun just flinched a little whereas chanyeol literally jumped, eyes wide, and baekhyun couldn't help but laugh at him. 

"shut up," chanyeol grumbled, reaching beside baekhyun's head to grab two plates. he pulled the waffles out quickly in his haste to not be burnt. 

"you're cute when you're scared." 

"i'm cute always." chanyeol grabbed the syrup out of the fridge, setting it on the table with the plates. "get some forks and butter knives." 

"what's the magic word?"

"please." 

baekhyun's eyes widened and he hopped down from the counter. "wow, you're really hungry if you didn't fight that." 

"i got like two hours of sleep last night," he admitted, propping an elbow up on the table and glancing up to baekhyun as he approached. "i'm surprised i didn't wake you up when i got out of the bed. i fell twice." 

baekhyun giggled at the idea of chanyeol tripping over his own feet in the dark, sitting down across from him. "you're such a dork." 

"you love me, though." 

"you love me more." 

he looked up to see chanyeol staring at him with the softest expression he'd ever seen on his face, and baekhyun was pretty sure he could physically feel his heart melting. 

"yeah. you're probably right." 

baekhyun glanced towards the windows to see raindrops covering the glass. the smell almost seemed to permeate the house, warm and earthy and raw. it made it feel even more like home, somehow. because chanyeol was his home, and chanyeol was all change saved for rainy days and impromptu dates at three in the morning and long drives to nowhere. he was open arms to fall into and a voice to sing him to sleep, and a heart that he felt safe with. chanyeol was the smell after it rained, and baekhyun wouldn't have it any other way. 

"name that song petrichor." 

chanyeol seemed confused for a second, but still smiled at him. "alright. petrichor it is."


End file.
